Prayer —
A method of finding inner-peace
Prayer and Religion are very personal and not everyone believes in the power of prayer and I respect that. Maybe the concept, the practice or even the stillness of it interests you. If Prayer doesn’t “float your boat”, you might be interested in my earlier Meditation Post.
Prayer and Meditation are tools that I use to help in letting go of my anxieties, my worries, my fears, and my troubles. I am NOT always successful and we can have that conversation at 3:30 in the morning, when I am tossing and turning — thinking about my “to-do” list, things I forgot, things I should have said and yes … even my BLOG!
For me, praying to someone greater than yourself provides the assurance that we have a purpose for our lives — that we are put here for a reason.
A little bit about my background, I didn’t grow up in a very religious household. No criticism, really, just the way it was.
We celebrated Easter and Christmas and I more or less knew “why” we celebrated those holidays, but not to the extent that I do now (AND, I am still learning!). I love our church and have learned a great deal over the past 15 some years, however, you do not need to belong to a church to pray.
Prayer is simply a connection with God or an object of worship.
Techniques to consider
A one-way “conversation” or a monologue. You may begin, Dear Lord (God, Father, Savior, Jesus Christ — use the name that you feel most comfortable). Proceed by giving thanks, showing gratitude, or even ask for forgiveness. Then, add your special request for yourself, a loved one or even for a stranger.
Turn that monologue into a two-way conversation. Same as above — Dear Lord (God, Father, Savior, Jesus Christ), thank you for “x”, please forgive me for “y”, and add your special request for yourself or someone else.
Then STOP, pause and listen.
This is the hard part, wait in stillness. Have a journal near you and as you are waiting, jot down what you hear. Note that this stillness should be a solid 10 minutes — longer if you can bear it. This time is a moment of reflection and will become easier as you practice the art of “listening”. Don’t worry if you think it is your own voice in your head.
If you notice, with both of these techniques I am encouraging you to begin with a note of “thanks”. When managing people and providing constructive criticism — I have always believed in the “Oreo Cookie” method.
Provide a positive comment // then the feedback // then another positive comment. In this case, you are asking for something very important to you or to someone else, what better opportunity, than now, to give Praise and Thanks for the blessings that you DO have!
Besides, I’ve read in a thousand different places (okay that was a little bit of an exaggeration) that you should be grateful every day — this way you can check two things off of your list!
Praying in Color — introduces an active, visual, and meditative form of intercessory prayer.
Sit in a quiet space, have a blank piece of paper or a journal handy, along with a variety of coloring tools (I use colored pencils, but use what you enjoy) and your Bible.
You may choose to concentrate on a particular bible verse or maybe the person or reason for why you are praying. Notate a few keywords that immediately come to mind, concentrate on those words and then without thinking or judgment start to draw. You do not have to be an artist, I am NOT, this is basically a session of meditative doodling.
It can be very therapeutic and every year, I say that I am going to do this more times throughout the year, but I usually end up really only doing it once or twice. My most favorite time is after our Good Friday service when the church is empty and it is just me … well, and God.
Music, oh YES music is definitely a form of prayer — another opportunity for a connection with God. And this song by Micahel Neale is a perfect example (note the Bible Passage above).
Do Justly is one of my favorite songs that our Praise Band sings. Our drummer takes lead on this particular song, my husband says that he sounds just like Steve Winwood!
If words do not flow easily from you, then let them come to you. If you do a quick YouTube or Google search on a few keywords, you will find that there is a wealth of Contemporary (and Classic) music that can move you.
The Path to Finding your Inner Peace is unique to each person. One method might work for your friend, but not for you.
I ask, when you are ready, that you give these suggestions a try. Like my daily practice of meditation, I pray in the format that works for me, at that moment. However, unlike needing a quiet space for meditation you can practically pray anywhere — I’ve prayed in my car, on a walk, even in an airport!
My hope is that I have been able to show you that prayer doesn’t have to be this big, scary “to-do” and is simply an opportunity for you to unload your burdens to God; allowing you to navigate to a daily sense of calm.
Until next time — Peace and Blessings to you, my friend!
Originally published at https://riselovelive.com on May 2, 2019.
